Had a chance to speak to Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain so far this morning.

Hughes, as always, was measured and confident. He said he was shocked at the revelations about Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens but still feels the same way about them personally.

He also brushed off the idea that there is more pressure on him now because he wasn’t traded for Johan Santana. “It wasn’t my decision,” he said. “Trust me, I put far more pressure on myself.”

Joba was animated, as usual, and said he didn’t care how the Yankees used him. “It’s all about No. 27,” he said.

Interestingly, he said his best pitch so far during his workout has been his changeup.

Spoke to Scott Strickland who relayed an interesting story. The Yankees signed him last May and assigned him to Class AAA Scranton. But as he was headed that way, his wife gave premature birth to twins. So he returned home and didn’t play again the rest of the season.

Jaden and Call Strickland are doing well now and Scott says he’s ready to pitch. He could be a sleeper.

Mike Mussina lost some weight. Brian Bruney lost a lot of weight and Kyle Farnsworth looks far less bulky. Farnsworth also has a full head of hair for the first time since he’s been a Yankee.

For those of you waiting for No. 21 to get retired, Morgan Ensberg has it.

Other than the retired numbers, the only numbers not assigned are 6, 51, 69, 98 and 99.

Finally, Andrew Brackman is the biggest baseball player I have ever seen. Randy Johnson is taller but is built like a praying mantis. This kid is immense. It’ll be interesting to see him on the mound next season.